Archives for August 2017

“As CIA director, Mike Pompeo has taken a special interest in an agency unit that is closely tied to the investigation into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, requiring the Counterintelligence Mission Center to report directly to him,” the Washington Post reports.

“Officials at the center have, in turn, kept a watchful eye on Pompeo, who has repeatedly played down Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and demonstrated a willingness to engage in political skirmishes for President Trump.”

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn “seriously considered resigning and even drafted a letter of resignation” after President Trump’s refusal to condemn hate groups, the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Cohn came close to resigning, according to one of the people briefed on the discussions. He met with Mr. Trump privately at the president’s golf club in New Jersey last Friday, scrapping his plans to spend the evening at his second home in the Hamptons.”

Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen “offered a forceful defense of broad new banking regulations enacted after the 2008 financial crisis, saying the rules safeguard the economy against another crisis and rejecting assertions from President Trump and top aides that they should be rolled back,” the Washington Post reports.

Politico: “The Fed chief’s remarks are implicitly a pitch of how she would lead the central bank if President Trump chose to keep her at the helm of the Fed; the 71-year-old economist’s term as chair ends at the beginning of February.”

“Do I talk to the national media? Not often. I’ve been dying to do what you want me to do. Dying to do it, but we’ve got to be very – it would be stupid for me to engage the national media and give them and everyone else the ammunition they need and we lose this seat. We have to be really careful.”

— Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME), quoted by the Maine Beacon, when asked why he doesn’t tout his conservative stances on national television.

“As Hurricane Harvey swirls through the Gulf of Mexico, speeding toward the Texas coast, it could also bring a critical test of President Trump’s abilities as commander-in-chief,” CNN reports.

“In an instant, natural disasters can become defining moments for a presidency, and Hurricane Harvey — which is set to be the first Category 3 hurricane to hit the US in 12 years — could be the first such moment for Trump, testing his administration’s ability to handle a major natural disaster.”

“The Trump administration has been preparing for months for what is forecast to be an especially active hurricane season, but Harvey is also gusting toward the US amid questions about vacancies in key administration posts.”

James Hohmann: “Storms like this can define presidencies. George W. Bush’s presidency never recovered after Hurricane Katrina 12 summers ago. George H.W. Bush’s 1992 reelection hopes were hurt by his botched response to Hurricane Andrew because it cemented the narrative that he was detached from domestic problems and unconcerned about acting swiftly to help regular people back home.”

“Political associates of Al Franken say they believe the Minnesota senator could be talked into running for the White House if he believes he’s the Democrat best positioned to defeat President Trump,” The Hill reports.

“But they say Franken would need to be convinced, and argue that the former Saturday Night Live star would be reluctant to enter a battle with dozens of other Democrats in what’s increasingly expected to be a wide-open race for party’s nomination.”

Mike Allen: “Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) — ‘the Johns,’ as insiders are calling them — have been making a flurry of joint appearances to talk about state-driven improvements to health care.”

“But Axios has learned that their duet is part of an alliance that’s gaining momentum toward a possible joint independent bid for president in 2020, likely with Kasich at the top of the ticket.”

“For all its power and prestige, the speaker of the House is one of the most thankless jobs in Washington — just ask John Boehner. Now, with Congress barreling toward major fiscal fights this fall, Paul Ryan is about to get a taste of the Boehner treatment — and then some,” Politico reports.

“Consider what’s on the immediate horizon for the GOP wunderkind: President Trump is ready to shut down the government over his border wall with Mexico. Breitbart has all but declared a renewed, Steve Bannon-led war on GOP leaders, with Ryan in its cross hairs. And conservative lawmakers are exhorting the speaker to play hardball on raising the debt ceiling — even as the White House demands a no-strings-attached increase to calm nervous creditors.”

“Like Boehner, Ryan will be forced to mediate the long-running hostilities in his conference — between the always-potent Freedom Caucus and a newly-empowered faction of centrists. Only this time, Ryan also has a demanding and unpredictable president thrown into the mix, too.”

“President Trump handed Democrats a gift this week with his vow to shut down the government if he doesn’t soon get money for his border wall. Democrats may be only too happy to let him follow through on his threat since it will now be easy for them to blame the president for any government interruption, which would probably aggravate many Americans,” the New York Times reports.

“Rather than cowing Democrats, Mr. Trump’s tough talk is more likely to embolden the opposition in ongoing negotiations, particularly since he has now twice suggested he was willing to shutter government agencies if he didn’t get his way.”

“It also puts more pressure on Republicans to find the votes internally to pass spending bills and an increase in the federal debt limit — two things hard-right conservatives in the House and Senate have refused to support in the past. That Republican resistance provides Democrats leverage — Republicans can either grant concessions such as no wall money or produce all the votes for the spending bills and debt limit increase themselves.”

“I have come under enormous pressure both to resign and to remain in my current position. As a patriotic American, I am reluctant to leave my post… But I also feel compelled to voice my distress over the events of the last two weeks… Citizens standing up for equality and freedom can never be equated with white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK.”

— White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, in an interview with the Financial Times.

“President Trump has repeatedly argued that he’s done more than any other recent president. That’s not true, as measured by the amount of legislation he’s been able to sign. It is true, though, that Trump has undone a lot of things that were put into place by his predecessors, including President Obama,” the Washington Post reports.

“Since Jan. 20, Trump’s administration has enthusiastically and systematically undone or uprooted rules, policies and tools that predated his time in office.”

“Many have said that President Trump isn’t a Republican. They are correct, but for a reason more fundamental than those usually given. Some focus on Trump’s differences from mainstream GOP policies, but the party is broad enough to embrace different views, and Trump agrees with most Republicans on many issues. Others point to the insults he regularly directs at party members and leaders, but Trump is not the first to promote self above party. The fundamental reason Trump isn’t a Republican is far bigger than words or policies. He stands in opposition to the founding principle of our party — that of a united country. …

“In honor of our past and in belief in our future, for the sake of our party and our nation, we Republicans must disassociate ourselves from Trump by expressing our opposition to his divisive tactics and by clearly and strongly insisting that he does not represent what it means to be a Republican.”

“August was supposed to be the month that President Trump sold tax reform,” Politico reports.

“But with less than two weeks to go before Congress returns, and Republican leaders hoping to launch a major push to get tax legislation to the president’s desk by the end of the year, Trump has barely mentioned the subject.”

“Part of the month went to important foreign policy issues… But domestically he’s picked fights with the top Republican in the Senate, stewed over how his response to racially tinged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, was received, and mused about shutting down the government over funding for a border wall.”

“President Trump is strategically separating himself from Republicans in Congress, an extraordinary move to deflect blame if the GOP agenda continues to flounder,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump deepened the fissures in the party on Thursday when he accused the top two leaders on Capitol Hill of mismanaging a looming showdown over the nation’s borrowing authority. Republican lawmakers and aides responded to the president’s hostility with broadsides and warnings of their own.”

“Frustrated by months of relative inaction across Pennsylvania Avenue and emboldened by his urge to disrupt the status quo, Trump is testing whether his own political following will prove more potent and loyal than that of his party and its leaders in both houses of Congress.”

“President Trump is seriously considering ending DACA, the Obama-era policy that shields some illegal immigrants from deportation, before conservative state attorneys general file a court challenge to the program.”

“Sources familiar with the deliberations tell Axios that Trump has made no final decision, and the White House continues to receive advice from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Jeff Sessions strongly believes Trump should end DACA; DHS, however, has a more nuanced position, and Trump himself has said he’s sympathetic to the children helped by the program.”

About Political Wire

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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